Pets, Pets, Pets

Get out your October calendar. Next month is packed with interesting pet events; many adoption fairs or fund raisers for worthy animal organizations. Here is just a sampling: •Friday Oct. 5 from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m., Kent Animal Shelter is hosting a "Comedy Festival" "at the Riverhead Aquarium. $50 a person includes dinner and live entertainment from comics hot off the summer tour; Chinese auction too. Call 631-727-5731 ext. 4. All proceeds benefit Kent's Calverton shelter and low cost spay/neuter program. •Saturday Oct. 6, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Brookhaven Town AnimalShelter & Adoption Center will be holding the 4th annual

Poster Pets "Barktoberfest" dog/cat adoption event at the shelter- 300 Horseblock Rd., Brookhaven. A low-cost vaccine clinic for Town residents' pets will also take place between 1 and 3 p.m. During "Barktoberfest", there will be a petting zoo, face painting for kids, and demos by the Suffolk County Police K-9 Unit. From 2 to 3 p.m., participants can enter their own dogs in contests including World Class Wagging, Musical Sit and more. An adoption bonus will be given for any dog or cat adopted this day. For more info, call 631-286-4940 or visit www.brookhaven.org/ animalshelter. •Saturday Oct. 13, from 11a.m. to 3 p.m., rain or shine- CanineCompanions forIndependence(CCI)- is having "Snoopy'sDogFest" on the grounds of SUNY Farmingdale. Bring your dog in costume…Great prizes. This grand festival celebrates the qualities and charms of that legendary service animal, the dog! Jean Schulz (the widow of the "Peanuts" cartoonist) is a wonderful benefactor of CCI so Snoopy is ubiquitous. There will be a charity dog walk, working dog demos, canine agility trials, the Great Pumpkin Hunt, trick or treating for dogs, plus a dog costume parade led by Snoopy, of course. Many rescue groups bring dogs for adoption. In the past I've taken some Babylon Shelter canine candidates to DogFest. Call 631-694-6938. •Friday Oct. 26, from 7 p.m. to midnight, dance the night away at Little Shelter's "Dancing Withthe Stars Gala"- cocktail hour, dinner, dancing, entertainment- performances by award winning professional dancers and the chance to dance with the stars themselves at Chateau La Mer, 845 S. Wellwood Ave., Lindenhurst, $100 per person. The Gala is to benefit Little Shelter's dream of building a veterinary clinic right on their Warner Rd. Huntington property. Currently Little Shelter adoptables have to travel far for their medical procedures. Call 631-368-8770 ext. 205. •Finally a trio of "happenings" from Last Hope, Inc. Animal Rescue &Rehabilitation. (www.lasthopeanimalrescue.org): •Sunday Oct. 21 from 11- 2 p.m., (registration at 10:30- fee $25 per person, sponsor pledges encouraged) the "March for the Ferals"- scheduled in conjunction with National Feral Cat Day, Last Hope is holding a walk to raise funds for their "Fix- A- Feral" program. The walk starts at the Last Hope Cat Adoption Center, 581 W. Jericho Tpke., Huntington and ends at the Walt Whitman Birthplace, 246 Old Walt Whitman Rd., S. Huntington. Call 631-205-5069 or 516-486-3158. •Sunday Oct. 28. Last Hope is holding the 2nd Free Feral Cat Spay/Neuter Clinic at Basic Pet Care, Rt. 109, Lindenhurst. It's really free. At the first clinic in March with the help of 7 vets and many volunteers, we altered over 80 cats in one day. Call the numbers above or 631-664- 5481 to reserve a spot for one or more ferals in your care. •Tuesday Oct. 30 at 6 pm LastHope's "HalloweenMasqueradeParty" at Crest Hollow Country Club, 8325 Jericho Tpke., Woodbury, $80 a ticket, buffet dinner, cash bar. Call 516-486-3158. Babylon Town Shelter (643-9270) Lamar St. W. Babylon has a huge selection of dogs and cats seeking loving homes. Posing next to my authentic "Howdy Doody" handkerchief, "Howdy" the gray tabby kitten, about 5 months old, in C-10 is Mr. Congeniality. He kneads on your shoulder and turns every object into a toy. He has his rabies shot, and I'll arrange for his neuter too, if the kind person who adopts him contacts me. This cat is a special fellow. Meanwhile "Pixie" is a young, super-sweet, tiny German Shepherd mix, about 35 lbs. who looks as if someone docked her tail. Why? See more photos on the shelter's Petfinder site. •Males: "Caras" the purebred Bloodhound Cage 43; "Buster" the 3 y. neut. choc. Lab mix Cage 21; the lonely Hound Cage 9; golden Corgi mix Cage 67. •Females: "Pepper"- 4 yr. smallboned Spaniel mix; smooth Border Collie type Cage 81; hefty black Lab mix Cage 51; 2 feline gems in C-9: "Jewel" muted calico & "Faith"- tabby.